


Wandering Red Beast

by CherryCarmine



Series: Tales from The Earth [2]
Category: Ancient Egyptian Religion, Original Work
Genre: Animal Death, Biting, Choking, Gen, Mild Blood, Rated T just to be on the safe side, it's nothing too graphic but still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25935973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryCarmine/pseuds/CherryCarmine
Summary: Seth meets an old "friend" in the desert.
Relationships: Set/Thoth
Series: Tales from The Earth [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835935
Kudos: 10





	Wandering Red Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Edit 12/15/2020: Edited a line. Nothing too major or noticeable.

The jackal crept towards the oasis, taking care not to alert the jerboa sitting near the water. Feeling it was close enough, it leaped forward, startling the mouse. The jackal dug its fangs into the mouse's back, bearing down hard enough to stop the creature's struggling. It lays down but stops before it can enjoy its meal.

Something - or rather, _someone_ is stalking him - the same person who's been following him for the past few days, to be exact.

The jackal looks up and sees a familiar black and white ibis flying in the distance.

_What does he want?_

"You can stop following me now, Djehuti!" the jackal shouted.

The bird - now known as Djehuti - stumbles in surprise. "Um, hey! I see you're doing well, Seth." He dives towards Seth, no longer in his ibis form. He is now a man dressed for the harsh desert weather, no different than the average human aside from the divine aura radiating from him.

Seth glared at him. "Yeah. It's not like I'm stranded out here or anything," he sneered. Not wanting to feel lower than the other man, Seth decided to shift into his human form as well. His long red hair and pale skin stood in stark contrast with Djehuti's darker, more covered appearance. And his haggard appearance didn't help much. Had it not been for his aura and the black ears and tail of his signature animal, he'd have been just an unfortunate human stranded in the Sahara. 

Djehuti looked around. "Huh. And here I thought you'd be happier here, what with you being so in tune with animals and all. The desert _is_ your domain," he laughed.

Seth scowled. There was nothing funny about how he ended up stranded in this barren land. "If you only came here to make a bunch of stupid jokes, then leave!" The other gods were doing the same to him. Why couldn't he - a god who is so obsessed with following others - do the same?

"Ah, that wasn't my intention at all! I was just…" Djehuti sighed. "You're right. That was in poor taste. I'm sorry."

He never was good at telling jokes. Not that that stopped him from trying.

Djehuti cleared his throat. "As I was saying, believe it or not, there is a reason why I've been following you for so long."

Seth gave him a skeptical look. He knew the other gods would never accept him back. They were too stubborn to do something like that (especially _His Majesty_ ). "Well, you don't need to look after me anymore." He stood up and stretched his arms, feeling the hot, sandy desert wind blowing across his body. "As you said, I'm finally in my element," he said proudly. The Sahara wasn't home in the traditional sense, but it had everything Seth needed to survive.

"Seth-"

"You have plenty of other people to look after, right? Why waste your time looking for a stray dog?"

"Seth, be honest: do you miss Kemet?"

Seth glanced at him. There's that look again. That expression Djehuti made whenever he was serious. He _hated_ that expression; it always meant he was about to be punished for something - like the day he exiled him from Kemet.

"Of course not. What's there to miss?" Family? Friends? They wanted nothing more to do with him, and he's better off without them.

"Alright. Do you regret what you did during The Contendings? Do you feel even the slightest bit of remorse for anything at all?"

'Remorse'? Why is he asking all of this?

Seth chuckled. "You really shouldn't have come here, Djehuti," he growled. Something dark welled up inside him. A feeling he knew all too well. One that made him feel _alive_. Seth lunged forward and grabbed the other god by the neck. "I don't regret a damn thing I did back then!"

_It'd be a long, long time before they found the body out here._

Djehuti struggled in Seth's grasp. "Stop it, Seth!" he gasped. "I only… wanted to know-"

"Know what? Surely _you've_ figured out everything by now!" The lies Nephthys and Anubis had told him, all while helping his greatest enemies in secret. Osiris - The Beloved Child of Nut and Geb, He Who Is Loved By All - admitting to laying with Nephthys. There was nothing more to it than that.

He dug his nails into the other god's neck, relishing at the droplets of blood running underneath his fingers."I'm sick of seeing you're ugly face! The gods don't need a pathetic busybody like you!" Seth leaned into the struggling god's ear. "You wanna know something? I think you'd look better buried deep under the Sahara."

A mass of sand crept up Djehuti's body, making him struggle harder, desperately trying to pry Seth's hand off his neck. He could see Djehuti growing weaker by the minute - his eyes slowly rolling back, and his hands struggling to keep hold of the one around his neck. Seth grinned. "What? Did you think _you_ were exempt from my wrath, master? Why you're one of the few people at the very top of my list!"

"That's enough, Sutekh!" Djehuti choked out.

 _Sutekh?_ Seth didn't realize he had let Djehuti go. When was the last time he heard someone call him by his real name? Oh right. Djehuti had referred to him by that exact name on the day of his sentencing.

He promised himself that he'd kill _Thoth_ later. Djehuti was nothing like the man standing before him.

Seth turned away from Thoth, trying to ignore the onslaught of coughing coming from him. "Be thankful you're not the little falcon prince or his meddling mother."

Having caught his breath, Thoth stood up and continued where he left off. "You know full well we couldn't let you keep doing whatever you wanted, especially not when the Hyksos came in your name. Kemet was in bad shape as it was. We had no choice but to give Horus the throne."

_There he goes again, going on about that bratty prince. When will people learn to stop praising him?_

Seth crossed his arms. "I appreciate the lecture," he said sarcastically. "But if you were half as smart as everyone claims, you'd know that brat is unfit to lead an entire country on his own." Isis's "vision" disregarded that fact. "What do you hope to accomplish with _him_ at the top?" 

Thoth averted his eyes. "You're right."

Seth smirked. "Glad we finally agree on something for once-"

"But he had shown tremendous growth in both power and maturity as time went on. Not even you can deny that Sutekh," he said, this time staring right at him.

How annoying. There's nothing special about that bratty child. "Fine. Keep sucking up to him. Keep pretending that Isis isn't using him for her plans. I'm sure _he_ won't end up becoming a corrupt king!"

"Heru is nothing like you! I can tell that just by looking at him." Seth backed away from Thoth, surprised at the other's sudden outburst. "Also, you have no right to imply you're better than him. Both your behavior _and_ your reputation among the people had gotten worse as time went on. Things had to change, regardless of your personal feelings."

 _Oh, why can't he ever shut up? Why is he so stubborn?_ He should've just left him to rot away in the Sahara. Seth sighed and sat back down. "You talk too much, Djehuti. I'd rather hear the wind blowing." It was pointless talking to him about anything; he never knew when to stop.

"Will you listen to someone else for once in your-" Djehuti paused.

_Good. Now leave._

But to Seth's surprise (and annoyance), Djehuti spoke again. "It must be lonely being out here alone, even with the animals around." Seth looked up at him. "I'll be coming back to check up on you every so often. Alright?"

Seth groaned. He wanted nothing more to do with the other god, but if it helps him sleep at night, he might as well let him stay here for a while. Talking to an annoying person was better than having nobody around, he supposed. "Do whatever you want." 


End file.
